Media Literacy

July 2012

Hot summer days often mean more time inside and in front of a screen of some sort. "Media literacy" is a relatively new concept that includes one's ability to access, analyze, evaluate, and create media in a variety of forms. For parents and teachers, media literacy includes understanding the technology our kids may be using and knowing how to keep them safe while they're online.

Successful web surfing and finding the right answers to questions involves several steps: knowing what you're looking for, finding a resource, evaluating that resource, and understanding what it says. This article helps us guide students through the process and provides suggestions for getting started.

Common Sense Media has gathered many resources designed to help parents learn more about cyberbullying and online relationships. Explore these resources and gain the knowledge and tools you'll need to guide your kids toward making safe and smart choices in their digital lives.

Captions and subtitles can provide extra support for students with LD and struggling readers. Through research, we know that captioning can lead to increases in reading speed, word knowledge, decoding, comprehension, and more. Read on to learn more about captions and subtitles as well as resources for materials.

In this national survey from Common Sense Media, teens ages 13-17 report on their use of texting and social media. They also report on how use of social media affects the ways they feel about themselves and their relationships with family and friends. You won't be surprised to learn that teens are avid, daily users of social media, but you may be surprised at the findings about face-to-face communication and the desire to "unplug" more often.View research summary infographic »

Summer can often mean more days at home with your child. Dr. Mark Bertin offers advice for families with a child with ADHD — a framework for a smooth-running home and a calmer family setting. His advice includes recognizing the power of routine, ignoring what you can ignore, and maintaining perspective whenever possible.

CITEd supports leadership at state and local education agencies to integrate instructional technology for all students to achieve high educational standards. CITEd provides this support through identification of best practices, innovative online technical assistance tools, professional development, and communities of practice.

Search CITEd's TechMatrix to find educational and assistive technology products for students with disabilities.

I work as an OT with high schools students and wanted to know … what cell phone applications can benefit students with ADHD? We have used the basic features (calendar, alarms, etc.) but have not explored additional applications and are wondering what other ideas or suggestions you might have.

Dr. Tracy Gray answers: Students can use text messaging, such as Google SMS, to get definitions, facts, weather, and conversions sent directly to their phones. Online to-do lists such as Remember the Milk can send text alerts (or IM or email) reminding students of an upcoming appointment, assignment, or project.Read more »

Definition: Sources of information outside of words that readers may use to predict the identities and meanings of unknown words. Context clues may be drawn from the immediate sentence containing the word, from text already read, from pictures accompanying the text, or from definitions, restatements, examples, or descriptions in the text.

Moms with Apps compiled a long list of apps that can assist children and families with special needs. The list includes apps that facilitate writing, reading, conversation, organization, and more! Many other suggestions can also be found in the comments.

Designed by a child psychologist, Watchminder can help children and adults with Attention Deficit Disorder and other special needs in staying focused and managing time. The watch can be used to set up daily routines and to monitor attention.